Not buying a 53...

[mikep996]

Well, after all the looking for and finally finding a satisfactory 53MY and obtaining and paying for a slip that it will fit in we decided we are not going to buy a boat.

I received quite a few private emails from folks on this site and I really appreciate them. They helped the Admiral and me take a look at some issues that, in our enthusiasm to buy one of these wonderful boats, we hadn't really examined.

Both of us work full time. Our boating is essentially weekends or an occasional 3-4 day weekend. We operate on Long Island Sound and we often meet friends and raft up in various locations. We belong to a small yachtclub that has moorings in 7 locations on the LI and Connecticut side of the sound. We don't go any farther than Block Island or Newport, RI. Our boat - a 1988 36ft Mainship aft Cabin - is comfortable and meets these requirements very well.

So the question that we finally asked ourselves was, "What will the 53 MY do better WHEN considering the current time we have to boat/maintain a boat?"

So...for the CURRENT way we use our boat, the 53 essentially is too much for the job. We wouldn't be able to use any of the moorings that we currently use because they are restricted to boats less than 40 ft. We couldn't raft up with our friends for the same reason - can't use the moorings. If we anchored, rafting up wouldn't work because of the size disparity.

We absolutely love the 53 MY but last night we decided that it will have to wait until we are retired and can actually get the kind of use out of the boat that we want. Maybe in a couple of years...

I want to thank everyone on this site for their advice and information re the 53MY. It's been invaluable and a great help in reaching our decision

Thanks!!!

MikeP

[PascalG]

probably a wise decision. yes, the 53 is a lot of boat and of course that can restrict what you can do with it depending on your location.

not trying to convince you :-) but here are a couple of thing I want to point out, for the benefits of others prospective buyers...

- when rafting up with smaller boats... like mid 30 expresses, if you tie up the smaller boat amidship, you can easily step on its foredeck thru the opening in the railing.
- when rafting up at a dock, we usually do the same thing but with the express swung around, with the cockpit by the side doors...
- in now 10 months of ownership, I can't really say that the 53 is significantly more of hassle to maintain than my previous boat. yes there is a little more to wash down but most boats in the 35 to 50'; range will have 2 engines, genset, multiple A/Cs, couple of heads, fresh water pump, electornics and instruments, etc...
- so far, except for tying up to a restaurant for lunch, I haven't found the size of the boat a problem. the 4 foot draft is close to what most inboard boats need and it is so easy to handle that in about 200hrs I've yet to find myself in a situation where the size was a problem and I always handle it alone.

but again, it all depends on your boating needs...

pascal

[mikep996]

Thanks Pascal for excellent points as usual. In fact they were so good that in conjunction with the Admiral's (and my) discussion last weekend on our 36 which ended up echoing the same thoughts, we are back in the
53-purchase camp. The only difference is that this time we decided to sell our boat first, then buy the 53. So we put our boat up for sale yesterday and I got my first call yesterday afternoon. If luck is with us, we'll sell it quickly and still be able to buy the boat we "decided" on a few weeks ago.

If not, then we will be without a boat for some portion of this season except for our 10 ft dink which we are keeping. So we'll keep it in the 60ft slip while awaiting the eventual arrival of a 53MY!

What the heck - we had a completely empty 40 ft slip for several months waiting to buy a boat several years ago.

What good are decisiions if you can't change your mind?

[Nick]

Good Luck!

I sent you an email regarding your 36. Please let me know the details!

Nick

[spartonboat1]

Tom Fexus who is a marine architect of very large yachts wondered why he used his boat so little, when he hit it bigtime and could afford the "Florida Sandwich", (boat in front, swimming pool in back, house in middle).

He discovered he did not like to boat in Fla, but preferred NY area, his old stomping grounds. Once he bought a boat up there, his boating use went up.

His formula was (sortof): function of Distance from Boat/Length of Season (he had an actual formula) and , i.e. the shorter the season and farther you are from the boat, the more you use it!

But woof, a 53 is a big mother boat. I have the "smaller" 43 MY, but I hyperventilated when leaving the dock for the first 3-4 years I owned it, because it was such a rush to run it, and it was so much larger and substantial than any other boat I had ever owned operated.

When I walk up to a 53' (or 58') of the same vintage, they seem to be an order of magnitude larger. I have no frame of reference, but it must me an interesting mindset associated with owning/operating them.

Finally, as Tom Monahan of the Dominoes Pizza fortune once said, they "look like a boat"...not like a floating condo. Tom grew up in Traverse City in Northern Mich. (think of Seattle boating region with several fewer million people)
which had a large boating area. So he knew boats.

That's all folks...

[PascalG]

well, not all of florida is boring... true, I wouldn't probably use the boat as much if I was stuck on a stretch of ICW but many others places have a lot to offer. last week end I was just thinking that Biscayne bay, between Miami and the upper keys has a lot to offer.. sheltered waters, many nice anchorages within 15/20 miles of downtown, etc... similar deal in Ft Myers, Tampa, etc...

for about 10 years, I had the cheaper version of the "florida sandwich" you mentioned (although most have the pool between the boat and the house...): condo with a marina in the building. gettign to the boat was as hard as taking the elevator to the pool deck and walking on the dock. I used the boat a lot (37 express back then), sometimes even for just an hour after work during the week to recharge the batteries... mine.. not the boat... being out on the water is very therapeutic as you all know... yet, there were boat in the marina that I almost never saw leaving the dock!

an alternative to enjoy the boat, is to use it as a week end home... I did this for a few months last year, keeping it in the upper keys and heading down every friday afternoon coming back early monday morning. a little over an hour drive each way and well worth it.

the 53 may look big but it really is no harder to handle than anything else. only 10' more than your 43... when I picked it up the day I bought it, I thought... oh s... what did I get myself into!... the next time out, I had all forgotten about the bulk... between the weight, hull shape, big props and the doors next to the lower helm it's no problem to single hand.

problem with using a boat are all the other things that get in the way (unless you're retired...) like week end invitations, kids activities, trips, etc... and above all a spouse who is not as much of a boat nut. ... maybe that' s why I now live on the boat and my wife lives ashore... :-)

[MarioG]

Hey Pascal,
As a Biscayne bay afficionado myself,I'll second that anytime.

ps. the hunt is still on for the 58' YF. getting close...

cheers,

Mario from Miami